American Shaun White set out to make history. After taking gold in the men's halfpipe in Turin and Vancouver, he had a chance to become the first male American to win gold in the same event in three consecutive Winter Games.

Not only did he miss out on gold on Tuesday, but the 27-year-old also fell short of a medal completely.

Switzerland's Iouri Podladtchikov, who was born in Russia, scored a 94.75 on his final attempt to end the USA's run of three straight gold medals in this event (Ross Powers preceded White with a win in 2002).

Japanese teenagers Ayumu Hirano (93.50) and Taku Hiraoka (92.25) won silver and bronze, as White fell twice during his first final run and wasn't perfectly clean during his second, falling to fourth with a 90.25.

The results, according to Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan, marked two firsts:

Afterward, White, who had the highest score of the day with a massive 95.75 during qualification, talked about his disappointment and future plans, via BBC's Nick Hope and Passan:

Although he's taking a break, you can rest assured that disappointment won't be his Olympic swan song. Before Sochi, White made it clear, via USA Today's Rachel Axon, that he'll be back in 2018 for the South Korea Games:

I'm feeling great. It's been funny because there's been a lot of rumors going around that I'm going to be done or something after this. (Coach) Bud (Keene) and I are very excited about Korea and the next Olympics, so I'm not really going anywhere.

The Other Big Upset

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Sara Takanashi was supposed to become the first-ever Olympic gold medalist in the women's ski jump (normal hill). The 17-year-old won silver in the event at the 2013 World Championships, entered ranked No. 1 in the World Cup standings and has been the sports' transcendent athlete for much of the year.

Much like White, though, she didn't even finish with a medal.

Vogt took home gold on the event's final jump, pushing Daniela Iraschko-Stolz to silver, Coline Mattel to bronze and Takanashi to fourth.

The 22-year-old German was understandably ecstatic with her thrilling win:

American Sarah Hendrickson, who beat Takanashi for gold at last year's World Championships but was dealing with a significant knee injury, fell to 21st place.

She wasn't about to let that get her down, though:

It's Not All About Medals

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

In what was basically a scene out of a movie—such as Cool Runningsjust without the Jamaican bobsled team—Russian's Anton Gafarov crashed and broke a ski during the semifinals of the men's cross-country sprint but was determined to finish the race.

At first, that looked like it was going to be impossible. Because he only had one working ski, Gafarov fell a second time coming down the final hill. In a word, it was heartbreaking.

But Canadian coach Justin Wadsworth eventually rushed to Gafarov's rescue, providing him with a new ski to get to the finish line.

This was the epitome of Olympic spirit, as well as a good example why these Games are about so much more than just medals. They are about competition, determination, pride for one's country and respect for others.

What's Next?

Day 5 of the Olympics gets started with more curling round-robin action before seven more gold medals will be handed out. The medal events on Wednesday include women's downhill skiing, women's halfpipe and men's 1,000-meter speedskating.